WASHINGTON - Warning that virtual currencies are attracting money-launderers and drug dealers, U.S. officials called for greater government oversight of Bitcoin and other peer-to-peer payment systems during the first-ever congressional hearing on the fast-growing Internet-based technology. Treasury, Justice and Homeland Security department officials told members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Monday that websites facilitating payments with Bitcoin should receive more scrutiny from federal financial regulators to ensure that the relative anonymity granted by virtual currencies isn't exploited.

Annie Baker and Rajiv Joseph have been named the winners of the 6th Annual Steinberg Playwright Award, an annual theater honor organized by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. The awards, which will be handed out at a ceremony in New York on Nov. 18, are intended to recognize young and mid-career playwrights. The winners receive a monetary prize of $50,000 each. Baker, whose play "Circle Mirror Transformation" had its local debut at South Coast Repertory in 2011, presented her most recent play, "The Flick," at the off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons in March.

It's been less than two weeks since the iPhone 5c went on sale, but already Best Buy is discounting it by $50. The electronics retailer announced Thursday that customers who buy the device at one of its stores will receive a $50 gift card that can be applied at the time of the sale -- which would drop the price of the base iPhone 5c by half from $99.99 to $49.99. The offer runs from Thursday through Monday and appears to be a strategy by Best Buy to get customers to come into its stores and check out the new iPhone.

British bitcoin exchange Coinfloor opened its virtual doors to customers this week with a stated commitment to meeting government regulations and keeping money launderers out. The London-based exchange will officially open to trading Tuesday, but it is allowing customers to sign up and register for accounts beforehand. Coinfloor is launching at a time when bitcoin is facing increased scrutiny after the arrest of Ross Ulbricht, a 29-year-old from San Francisco who allegedly masterminded the online drug emporium Silk Road.

After seven years in the California governor's mansion, Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to his old day job: acting. Schwarzenegger wrote on Twitter that he's ready to start considering film roles again. The former governor tweeted Thursday night: "Exciting news. My friends at CAA have been asking me for 7 years when they can take offers seriously. Gave them the green light today. " Schwarzenegger's personal aide, Daniel Ketchell, confirmed the tweet Friday. Before leading the state from 2003 to 2010, the former bodybuilder was the star of such films as "The Terminator," "True Lies," "Kindergarten Cop" and "Twins.

For those Americans who dream of getting away from the crowds and to the other end of the world, Kashi may be the place. Kashi (pronounced kah-shur and sometimes spelled Kashgar) is China's westernmost city, a border outpost nestled between one of the world's highest mountain ranges, the Pamirs, and one of its most forbidding deserts, the Taklimakan. There are no rail lines here. The taxis are horse-drawn carts.

"You paid much to see our exotics, so don't complain. You are going to see our exotics." Our Intourist guide, Natasha, as dryly humorous as she was dutifully propagandistic, was making light of our aim to see Uzbekistan, the ancient region near Afghanistan and China's Xinjiang province and now the Uzbek Socialist Soviet Republic. Natasha, of course, was right. To us, Uzbekistan meant pure exotica.

World Travel Watch is a monthly report designed to help you make informed judgments about travel throughout the world. Because conditions can change overnight, always make your own inquiries before you leave home. In the United States, contact the nearest passport agency office; abroad, check in with the nearest American embassy . Asia China/Pakistan: The Kunjerab Pass on the Karakoram Highway at the China/Pakistan border is closed.

Silk Roads Design Gallery on La Brea Avenue, dealer of Asian antiques, art and contemporary items, will close June 1 after 15 years to transition to a solely online business. Cari Markell, co-owner of the gallery with husband Jon, said Friday that "rents are going up" and that, with a worldwide clientele, the gallery is "getting more Web business than walk-in business." The website, she said, also allows the opportunity to provide information that helps potential buyers put artworks into historical, religious and cultural context.